The Luo Pan, or Feng Shui Masters’ Compass

The Chinese were the first people to develop the Feng Shui compass more than 3,000 years ago. According to popular legend, the Luo Pan was presented to the Yellow Emperor (about the 25th century B.c.E.) by the Goddess of the Nine Heavens to assist him in his heroic battle against the evil wizards clan.

Over the centuries, the Luo Pan has been reformed, redefined, and altered according to new discoveries in land and directional theories by the respective dynasties’ KanYu experts (today called Feng Shui masters).The Luo Pan has since then become an indispensable tool for the practice of Feng Shui.

For centuries Feng Shui masters have researched, experimented, and studied the meanings encrypted in the various types of Luo Pans. The significance of the encryptions of the Luo Pan are profound and fascinating, especially since every degree and character engraved on the Heaven Dial (the round moveable plate of the Luo Pan) is not only intricately designed, but also contains the secrets of the ancient masters of Feng Shui.

Feng Shui, literally, means wind and water. Many people know that water represents wealth in Feng Shui, but not many know what the wind represents! The wind in Feng Shui represents direction. For Feng

Shui to be effective, the need to study the forces of water and directional influences is of paramount importance. At the sam time, the direction, down to a single degree, around the Luo Pan has significant and profound effects on the Feng Shui of a particular location.

The three types of Luo Pan

There are different schools of hag Shui, and the secrets of these systems are contained in most authentic Luo Pans. In general, however, there are two categories of authentic Chinese Feng Shui: the SanYuan School (Three Cyc System) and the San He School (Three Combination System). Fey Sing (flying stars) or Xuan Kong (time and space) can be classified under the SanYuan School.

Pa-Chai (Eight Mansions Kua formula), Sui-Long (water dragons), San Long (mountain dragons), and environmental Feng Shui are subsets of the San He system of Feng Shui.These are traditional authentic Feng Shui systems. Old masters used different Luo Pans based on the system of Feng Shui that they practiced.

The rings

Depending on which system the Luo Pan is designed for, it can have as few as seven basic rings or up to as many as thirty-six rings!

Every ring contains codes for a specific theory or formula in the application of Feng Shui.Also, different Feng Shui systems have different meanings given to a particular level of a Luo Pan. Once you know the meanings contained in the characters of your Luo Pan, you will be able to accurately measure, locate, calculate, and even predict the natural earth energies, both directional and locational, in a particular area.

In today’s modern practice of Feng Shui, two standardized types of Luo Pan are now very popular among practitioners of authentic Chinese Feng Shui.They are the SanYuan Luo Pan and the San Hup Luo Pan. It is very easy to differentiate between the two.The SanYuan Luo Pan has the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching.The San Hup Luo Pan has three distinctive rings of the 24 mountains. Thethird standardized type of Luo Pan is a combination of the SanYuan and San Hup Luo Pan. It is called the Zhung Hup Luo Pan.

Eight-point rule for selecting a Luo Pan

1 Quality of the needle: the needle must be aligned accurately on top of the red line at the bottom of the Heaven Pool (the round compass piece in the middle).

The needle must be able to align accurately below the axis cross (the intercrossing nylon strings). Not .even a slight deviation of 0.01mm away from the above lines can be tolerated.

2 Heaven Pool’s red line: the double dots must be pointing to the “Rat” (direct North 0° ) direction while the point should be pointing to the “Horse” (direct South 180°) direction.

3 Accuracy ofAxis Cross (the nylon strings): the cross must be able to cross the cardinal axes

directly at 0°,90°, 180°, and 270° of the Heaven Dial. There should not even be a slight deviation, or it renders the Luo Pan totally useless.

4 Quality of the Heaven Dial: every character, trigram, and number must be printed or carved with great clarity.They must be easy to read. Some words or characters may be blurred in the process of stamping — always double check.The dial should be steady and smooth when turned. It should not be too smooth or too tight.

5 Squareness of the Earth Plate and Spirit Level: the Luo Pan must have the square base. It is used to take measurements by matching it parallel to the wall or door of a house or building. It must come with a spirit level for accuracy of reading.

6 Material quality: what is the Luo Pan made of? Pressure-treated wood, normal wood, or recycled wood? It does make a huge difference. Pressure-treated wood can withstand temperatures of up to 140°C. Recycled wood or normal wood are the cheap renditions found in most Chinese roadside stalls.

7 Measurements and sizes: Luo Pans must come with accurate markings of the exact 360°. Luo Pans come only in standardized sizes.The standard sizes that traditional Feng Shui masters use are the 8′/4 inch (19cm) types.The smaller ones such as the 2Y inch (6cm)-4¹/8 inch (10cm) types are for convenience.The smaller the Luo Pan gets, the easier it is to make mistakes.Thus it is only when one is very experienced that one should use a small Luo Pan for a professional Feng Shui consultation. Beginners should always start by using a 5¹/8 inch (13cm) or a 6¹/8 inch (16cm) type. Professional Feng Shui practitioners should always use an 8¹/4 inch (19cm) Luo Pan.

8 Beauty: if all the above seven points are met, the last criterion is the beauty test. Some Luo Pans are good but are unattractive. Or they feel rough.When you are looking to buy a Luo Pan, be very choosy. Not only should it be of a high quality, it should also have the right feel (i.e. fabric, smoothness, and look).Your Luo Pan should even look good enough to be used as a decorative Feng Shui energizer.

It is not unusual for Feng Shui masters to display their Luo Pans glamorously in their homes. Some have a sense of pride, others have a feeling of peace when they display their Luo Pans. It is also true that many Feng Shui masters today are avid Luo Pan collectors. Many believe that the Luo Pan can ward off evil spirits because it embodies the secret of the I Ching, which we all know is the secret of the Feng Shui Ba Gua.

A quality Luo Pan should weigh around 2-3 lbs (1.3-1.5kg).The Heaven Dial (the round plate) should be easily turned around with a firm and steady hand.These days really good Luo Pans are hard to find. Unknowing vendors in the West have been victims of many unscrupulous businessmen in China, selling them cheap and tacky imitations of a real Feng Shui Luo Pan. Be very careful of the Luo Pan that you choose to purchase. Get professional advice before purchasing your Luo Pan.

Please note that the Luo Pan is a tool for professional Feng Shui consultants.You do not need it unless you are planning to become a consultant, in which case when you purchase a Luo Pan do make certain that you also learn to read and understand the Luo Pan.

More about: The Luo Pan, or Feng Shui Masters’ Compass

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• How to take the Compass Readings part 2
• How to Read the Compass
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• The Evolution of Formula Feng Shui
• Interpretation and Meanings of the Numbers
• Planetary Aspects: the Transpersonal and Impersonal Planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Nodes)
• Flying Star FENG SHUI: the time dimension
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